Red7VII

X-Men: The New Era

Drake “D” Edwards

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Location: Ashford Institute for the Gifted > Courtyard Interactions:
@RumikoOhara@BoyMom69035@webboysurf@Almalthia@KatKook@Burning Kitty@Lord Wraith

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"Have you ever thought of being a fire fighter? Do you have any idea how many lives you could save with that sort of ability?" Drake gave Sally a thoughtful look as he pondered the idea. Truth be told, he hadn't even considered it and felt a little foolish for not having done so sooner. She was absolutely right. Part of the notion was a comfort. A true purpose for his extraordinary circumstance. It was one that would itch at the back of his mind for days to come.

Drake's introspection was soon interrupted as Api introduced his roommate, Joey, who appeared to be heading in the group's direction. Drake's eyebrows furrowed for a moment as he looked around the scenery surrounding Joey. It almost looked like Joey was coming at them from the wrong direction. Did he come in through the gates of the school from the street? It didn't quite make sense. He must've missed something.

"Da-... D, right? We call you D?" Khloe asked after an amusing demonstration.

"You call me what you want," he said with a grin and a wink. "'D', 'Drake', 'Hairy guy other there'. Chances are, I'll answer." Khloe was cute and he liked that funny sense of innocence in her.

Drake continued to listen on as Api continued to shed light on his own personal history. The more he talked, the more Drake liked him. He seemed quite genuine and generous, which were always good qualities. It wasn't long before he saw a woman appear overhead. "We've been cooped up in this place all week. Ah don't know about y'all but this bird needs to fly free and see the sights. Who's going to come with me?"

"Cheesuz..." Drake muttered in a surprised whisper. He was not prepared to behold a woman in mid-flight hovering over them. Drake blinked rapidly for a moment in disbelief and then just let out a hearty laugh. This is the new norm now, he reminded himself. The possibilities of things to come seemed endless. He was glad he decided to come to this institution. It wasn't long ago that he was just riding off to nowhere, trying to figure out his next move. He would stop at bars, drinking himself into a mild stupor as he tried to wrap his head around his own life. It was at one of those bars that he heard whispers of the school from a couple of hateful bigots and how the institution was going to bring in the weirdos. Drake was slowly becoming proud that he was a card carrying weirdo, himself. Though he was a little long in the tooth compared to the others, the staff at the institution seemed to be welcoming him with open arms as he tried to find his own identity after the incident.

Her accent was certainly southern, which Drake liked a great deal. He couldn't quite pick up on the origin, but it sounded like she might be from a little east of Texas, though he was no expert at dialects. He certainly mirrored the sentiment, though. The crowd was getting, well, crowded.

"If I could do what you're doing now, you better believe I'd be chasing clouds with ya," he started, looking up at Temperance. He gave a smile as he continued to relish in what he was seeing. A person in mid flight. No jets, no propellers. Seemingly just the power of will. Astonishing. His eyes soon fell back down to the grounded people around him. "But I am ready for a change of scenery. Anyone got plans?" The ice was broken with Nik, and he knew it would only do him good to get to know his roommate better. At the same time, he wanted to see what this Texas girl was about, as he gave Sally a glance. Api looked like a good time was going to follow wherever he went and Uná was sure to make a conversation lively. He gave a smirk to Khloe as he snuck another peak at her cap, still finding himself amused at the trick from before. Finally, he looked on to the one introduced as Joey and was eager to hear his story before making any moves.

X-Men: The New Era

Drake “D” Edwards

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Location: Ashford Institute for the Gifted > Courtyard Interactions:
@RumikoOhara@BoyMom69035@webboysurf@Almalthia@KatKook

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Drake's eyes flicked back and forth from face to face. His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to follow the conversations. He looked to Nik, a source of mild acquaintanceship, as he watched his roommate getting some seemingly welcomed attention from the one introduced as Kloe. She had a sort of glow to her, and definitely seemed like someone who was used to making friends easily.

It was then Sally's turn to join the fray, apparently eager to meet everyone with an admirable attention to detail in knowing and remembering everyone's names from days gone by. Drake felt a small tinge of guilt for having not even tried to learn the other students' names prior to today. He was often the lone occupant in his own little world. Expanding that world to this many people this rapidly was a little jarring. Sally's apparel was familiar, but not for this neck of the woods. Drake's multi-colored eyes soon fell on her boots and he couldn't help but raise an interested eyebrow. A country girl, eh?

After some banter, Uná had given Drake some advice about one of his bad habits. "You should think about quitting I hear they can kill ya," she had said, referring to the cigarette he had just discarded moments earlier. With an upward nod, and a crooked grin, Drake opted not to argue. Everyone around definitely seemed pleasant and it certainly felt serendipitous that, if he was going to be surrounded by strangers, that they would all be so kind and welcoming thus far.

Soon came what Drake knew was bound to come next: the questions. Uná was the first to pose them to the gathered students and, already, Drake's stomach turned a little. Nik was first at bat. Already Drake was learning more about his roommate than he had ever bothered to ask, himself. It wasn't for lack of interest as much as it was that Drake was more focused on his own odd situation. "I guess... I'm really good when things blow up in my face. And they blow up a lot. Let's just say that." In a singular huff of a laugh, Drake liked the answer. He could relate.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Api unnaturally leap into a tree off to the side. He became fixated with the feat until his concentration was interrupted by Sally, who was next to answer the line of questions. Another native Texan he thought. All of a sudden, the familiarity made sense. He looked on with a cautious sense of astonishment as he watched her demonstrate her power. No matter how many times he saw the impossible prove itself possible, it still consistently amazed him. She looked to Nik once more and asked for clarification. "Fire? Explosives? Something along those lines?" she asked, referring to the abilities that the former had alluded to. All at once, it became very clear why the powers that be paired Nik and Drake together as roommates. Put the man that can't burn into a room with the human explosive.

Since everyone was being fairly open and since it was inevitably going to be his turn to answer, whether he liked it or not, Drake inhaled through his nostrils slowly before speaking. "Alright," He began. "From Texas, too," he mentioned, giving Sally a friendly wink. "Not dating right now. Been legally drinking for a year and a half. Been illegally drinking long before that," he said, attempting to give away his age. "Not much for Parkour," he admitted. "If I need to get somewhere fast, I usually hop on the back of Vanessa and take off." After a beat, it was obvious that further explanation was needed. "Vanessa is my bike," he said, pointing toward the parking lot off in the distance. "And, I'm sorry, but you've got the wrong guy if you need any help at calculus." Critical thinking problems, history, biology... Drake was adept at several subjects, but advanced mathematics was not one of them. Part of him wanted to leave it at that and not even mention his ability, but the rest of him just wanted to get it out of the way. "Truth be told, I'm not even sure why I'm here," he started. "I mean, I get it, but I don't. My power? If you want to call it that, my power is that I don't need a stick to roast marshmallows. 'Stop, drop and roll' is not a required procedure for me in an emergency situation. I don't burn. That's it." His tone was that of mild defeat. "But, you know," he said, with a little more pep, "I save a ton on sun screen."

X-Men: The New Era

Drake “D” Edwards

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Location: Ashford Institute for the Gifted > Courtyard Interactions: @RumikoOhara@Almalthia

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Drake wiped his left palm on his pants, attempting to relieve himself of the ash remnants as he flicked the body of the cigarette aimlessly away. Suddenly, from the Institute doors sprung a young woman that looked like the embodiment of sunshine wrapped up in a redhead. She stopped just ahead of him, her back on display as she looked outward. Short of stature, but attractively curvaceous for a younger lady, Drake took a split second to take her in. After a breath she looked back and said, “Bet you get this all the time but those are really bad for you. I’m Uná. You are?” Drake squinted for a minute, then opened his mouth to speak, but was suddenly interrupted by yet another ball of energy erupting from the institute's entrance.

”Hallo Frin it is nice to meet this bright day, I am Gunnar Grimsson but most call me Api.” Drake regarded this new one with a sideways smile. He looked them both up and down, slightly overwhelmed by the sudden interaction when he was just previously wallowing in his own loneliness. ”You are smoker?” Gunnar's accent was endearing.

"Yeah," he said, answering both. He gave a short chuckle. The things we've seen people do here and smoking is the thing that makes them aghast. "Uná... Api (am I pronouncing that right)... It's, uh, good to meet you. 'D'." Drake said, turning his attention back to Uná. "Just call me 'D'." He started to stare the two of them down, trying to find signs or physical hints at what they could do. They were here at this place, afterall. They had to be capable of something extraordinary. Their clothes gave no hint, nor did any of their physical attributes. At least not to Drake. He wanted to ask what they could do, but really didn't want to have to answer the same question in return. It was embarrassing. As a nervous tick, Drake combed his hair back with his fingers and took in a breath. "So..." he trailed. "This place is a trip, huh?" He then subtly shook his head, disappointed in himself and the dumb question.

X-Men: The New Era

Drake “D” Edwards

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Location: Ashford Institute for the Gifted > Courtyard

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With a loud thud, the doors of the Ashford Institute for the Gifted swung open hard. Drake briskly walked out toward the open air, his index finger hooking the collar of his black shirt and shook it as he tried to let his body heat escape his clothes. It was a lot to take in and it all just made him nervous.

With his other hand, he reached in toward the pocket of his jeans to find a familiar box, a friend in dire times, a silent companion that knew how to calm him down. He pulled it out and flicked open the top a turquoise pack of cigarettes, retrieving one of the nine he had left and quickly putting it in his mouth. Tucking the pack back into its place in his jeans, he then went for the opposite pocket, retrieving a small black lighter. After a few frustrated flicks, he finally had flame. He held it to the tip of the cigarette still wedged between his lips and breathed in. As the fire took hold and the smoke bellowed into his mouth, Drake’s eyes slowly closed. He put the lighter back and leaned up against the wall of the building, letting the smoke slowly flow out his nostrils. What a day, he thought. What a week!

While his body slowly began to relax, his mind still raced. Mutants... powers... and I’m supposed to be one of them? He wasn’t exactly alone, but he certainly felt lost. It was times like this that he wanted to call his brother. He hadn’t spoken to him much since he left Texas and hadn’t spoken to him at all since... the incident. What would he think if he knew his own brother was a mutant? Just one more thing for his parents to look down on him for.

Drake took another slow puff and looked around the grounds of the courtyard, of his new world. He hadn’t met everyone, yet, but he heard some of the classmates introduce themselves and what they could do. And here I am, he thought. My super power is being able to take something out of the oven without wearing a mit. Though it was a sobering notion, he couldn’t help but give a crooked grin as he flicked the ash of his cigarette, letting it fall to the ground.

The staff claimed they would help him hone his abilities along with everyone else. So far, he felt like his development was stagnant. Patience, he reminded himself, was a virtue and it had only been a week, afterall. The thought of being some powerful entity was intoxicating though. For so long he lived under the shadow of his betters that he often daydreamed about what it would be like to have power that would inspire people, that everyone could look up to and say ‘Wow, look at him!’

But today wasn’t that day. Today Drake Edwards was just a flame retardant wrench monkey, just like yesterday and the day before that. Drake had smoked the cigarette nearly to the filter. He looked around for a second out of habit, searching for an ashtray despite already knowing there wasn’t one. With his cigarette resting between his right index and middle fingers, his eyes fell upon the open palm of his left hand and he smirked. I’m a super powered mutant, he thought sarcastically as he pushed the cherry of the cigarette into his palm, crushing it into his skin until the smoke ceased to rise from its end. Try not to faint in amazement at my mind boggling abilities!

X-Men: The New Era

Drake

Name: Drake Edwards
Nicknames/Aliases: "D"
X-Men Code Name: (Working on it)

Gender: Male
Age: 22
Physical Description:
6'1"
Fit frame with broad shoulders
Two different colors eyes - one blue and one red, a mutation called heterochromia
Dark hair, beard
Various tattoos on his arms and back.
Dresses fairly casually. Usually in blue jeans, a dark t-shirt, leather jacket, boots and often sunglasses to hide his eyes.

Mutations: His mutation is going to be in stages. Right now, he knows he can't be burnt by flame. Eventually he's going to realize he has Pyrokinesis. Finally, I want the stages of the mutation to end with him transforming into a demon-looking creature (triggered by anger or stress similar to The Hulk) that can command fire.

His powers are primarily fire-based. He cannot burn, he can control fire, and he can project fire. Once he achieves full mutation, his second form just adds a bit of strength and resilience at the cost of willpower.

Personality: Often sarcastic, analytical and initially more comfortable solo than in a group. It takes some effort to earn Drake's trust, but once you do, you've got a friend for life. Very loyal, willing to go to great lengths to keep his friends and family safe.

Background: Drake grew up in a normal environment. He was born to fairly normal parents in Texas and has a twin brother, Shawn, who still lives there. Shawn was definitely the favorite in the family and an overachiever to boot. His twin brother is on the fast track to achieving his dream of getting a PhD while Drake has always felt more comfortable with a wrench in his hand. While there was no real hard feelings between the brothers, Drake was tired of his parents' constant reminders of his brother's successes while Drake barely graduated high school and didn't even bother applying to colleges. To get out from under his brother's shadow, Drake moved out of Texas and tried to start over elsewhere, becoming a bit of a nomad in search of a purpose.

Recap of your mutations awakening: Drake is not aware of the full potential he possesses. One day while working as a mechanic at a small mom and pop shop, Drake received a new welding tank from the shop owners' vendor. A client had come in requested that a new muffler be welded onto his truck. Drake ignited the torch and suddenly the tank exploded. The shop went up in flames and engulfed Drake's body. Initially in shock and screaming out of instinct, it wasn't long before Drake realized he wasn't actually hurting. In disbelief and panic, he ran through the flames and out to the street, slapping at the scorched remains of his clothes to pat out the fire. Firefighters were soon on the scene and emergency medical personnel pulled Drake toward their ambulance and tried to screen him for injuries. To the shock of everyone, there were none. Other than Drake's clothes, he suffered no burns at all despite being in the heart of the explosion. It was obvious to him and his onlookers that something wasn't right. Drake was not normal. With a look of fear and shame, Drake shoved passed EMS and took off running down the street toward the parking lot where he left his motorcycle. It was time to fill a backpack with what little he owned and move again...

X-Men: The New Era

Drake

Name: Drake Edwards
Nicknames/Aliases: "D"
X-Men Code Name: Devilsbane

Gender: Male
Age: 22
Physical Description:
6'1"
Fit frame with broad shoulders
Two different colors eyes - one blue and one red, a mutation called heterochromia
Dark hair, beard
Various tattoos on his arms and back.
Dresses fairly casually. Usually in blue jeans, a dark t-shirt, leather jacket, boots and often sunglasses to hide his eyes.

Mutations: His mutation is going to be in stages. Right now, he knows he can't be burnt by flame. Eventually he's going to realize he has Pyrokinesis. Finally, I want the stages of the mutation to end with him transforming into a demon-looking creature (triggered by anger or stress similar to The Hulk) that can command fire.

His powers are primarily fire-based. He cannot burn, he can control fire, and he can project fire. Once he achieves full mutation, his second form just adds a bit of strength and resilience at the cost of willpower.

Personality: Often sarcastic, analytical and initially more comfortable solo than in a group. It takes some effort to earn Drake's trust, but once you do, you've got a friend for life. Very loyal, willing to go to great lengths to keep his friends and family safe.

Background: Drake grew up in a normal environment. He was born to fairly normal parents in Texas and has a twin brother, Shawn, who still lives there. Shawn was definitely the favorite in the family and an overachiever to boot. His twin brother is on the fast track to achieving his dream of getting a PhD while Drake has always felt more comfortable with a wrench in his hand. While there was no real hard feelings between the brothers, Drake was tired of his parents' constant reminders of his brother's successes while Drake barely graduated high school and didn't even bother applying to colleges. To get out from under his brother's shadow, Drake moved out of Texas and tried to start over elsewhere, becoming a bit of a nomad in search of a purpose.

Recap of your mutations awakening: Drake is not aware of the full potential he possesses. One day while working as a mechanic at a small mom and pop shop, Drake received a new welding tank from the shop owners' vendor. A client had come in requested that a new muffler be welded onto his truck. Drake ignited the torch and suddenly the tank exploded. The shop went up in flames and engulfed Drake's body. Initially in shock and screaming out of instinct, it wasn't long before Drake realized he wasn't actually hurting. In disbelief and panic, he ran through the flames and out to the street, slapping at the scorched remains of his clothes to pat out the fire. Firefighters were soon on the scene and emergency medical personnel pulled Drake toward their ambulance and tried to screen him for injuries. To the shock of everyone, there were none. Other than Drake's clothes, he suffered no burns at all despite being in the heart of the explosion. It was obvious to him and his onlookers that something wasn't right. Drake was not normal. With a look of fear and shame, Drake shoved passed EMS and took off running down the street toward the parking lot where he left his motorcycle. It was time to fill a backpack with what little he owned and move again...

Sidenote: After I wrote out this CS, I noticed that Nik has a similar, but not identical power set. This might play out well together, or it may cause unnecessary redundancy. If this CS needs to change, that's no problem. I can certainly make some major tweaks.

X-Men: The New Era

I'm very interested. Will post a CS up tonight!

Justice League: Shadow of the Gods (Always Open)

Haven't forgotten about this. I am admittedly a Marvel guy and am excitedly researching DC's vampire history. Surprisingly sparse so far, but I want it to be as authentic and flowing as possible. Skinner Sweet, Andrew Bennet, Cain, the works. Stay tuned!

Howdy

Thanks, much!

Justice League: Shadow of the Gods (Always Open)

@MrDidactThanks, great feedback! I've amended the offending parts of the character sheet and will work on background development and have that adjusted very soon (hopefully by tomorrow night). Thanks again!